MSc Global Development (Politics, Governance and Development Policy)

Fees for entry in 2027 have not yet been set. For reference, the fees for the academic year beginning September 2026 were as follows:

• MSc (full-time)
  UK students (per annum): £14,700
  International, including EU, students (per annum): £30,500
• MSc (part-time)
  UK students (per annum): £14,700
  International, including EU, students (per annum): £30,500

The fees quoted above are fully inclusive of tuition, administration and computational costs.

Fees for entry are subject to yearly review. The University reserves the right to increase your tuition fee by up to 7% each year for courses lasting more than one year, including to reflect rising costs associated with delivering our educational and wider student experience. Postgraduate fees information .

Always contact the admissions team if you are unsure which fee applies to your qualification award and method of attendance.

International student CAS deposit

Self-funded international applicants are required to pay a deposit of £2500 towards their tuition fees before a confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) is issued. Some applicants will be required to pay a higher deposit. More information on tuition fee deposits .

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

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• Learn more about - student finance options for UK students .
• Learn more about - fees and finance for international students .
• Graduates of The University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University can receive a 10% discount on their master's degree tuition fees as part of our Manchester Alumni Loyalty Discount scheme.

The unit aims to:

1. Introduce and critically evaluate different approaches to defining, measuring and explaining poverty
2. Explore the causes and characteristics of different types of poverty, such as rural and urban poverty
3. Discuss the role of different actors, including states, international institutions and social movements, in addressing poverty
4. Examine the post-2015 global poverty agenda and the relationship between global governance and poverty reduction
5. Critically analyse different approaches to poverty reduction and the challenges encountered when addressing poverty in diverse contexts
6. Compare the causes and characteristics of poverty in the global North and South

Students will be able to:

• Distinguish between different approaches to defining, measuring and explaining poverty
• Explain the causes and characteristics of different types of poverty in diverse contexts
• Identify different approaches to poverty reduction and the role of various actors in addressing poverty

Students will be able to:

• Critically evaluate different approaches to defining, measuring and explaining poverty
• Analyse different approaches to poverty reduction and the challenges encountered when addressing poverty in different contexts
• Compare the causes and characteristics of different types of poverty in diverse contexts

Students will be able to:

• Analyse the practical challenges encountered when addressing poverty in diverse contexts

Students will be able to:

• Develop and structure a critical and analytical argument
• Gather and make use of appropriate evidence to support analyses
• Work towards deadlines
• Participate in group discussions
• Express themselves verbally and in writing
• Demonstrate critical thinking   

• Written assignment (3,000 words)

Detailed written feedback provided.

Crane, A., Elwood, S., & Lawson, V. (2020). Re‐Politicising Poverty: Relational Re‐ conceptualisations of Impoverishment. Antipode, 52(2), 339-351.

Fischer, A. M. (2018). Poverty as ideology: rescuing social justice from global development agendas. Zed Books.

Sullivan, D., & Hickel, J. (2023). Capitalism and extreme poverty: A global analysis of real wages, human height, and mortality since the long 16th century. World development, 161, 106026.

Hulme, D. (2015) Global Poverty: Global governance and poor people in the post-2015 era. Routledge.

Lawson, V. & Elwood, S. (eds.) (2018) Relational Poverty Politics: Forms, Struggles, and Possibilities, University of Georgia Press. 
Moser, C. (Ed.) (2016) Gender, asset accumulation and just cities: Pathways to transformation. Routledge.

Roy, A. & Crane, E. S. (eds.) (2015) Territories of poverty: Rethinking north and south, University of Georgia Press.

Sumner, A., Ortiz-Juarez, E., & Hoy, C. (2022). Measuring global poverty before and during the pandemic: a political economy of overoptimism. Third World Quarterly, 43(1), 1-17.

Sheppard, E., Sparks, T., & Leitner, H. (2020). World class aspirations, urban informality, and poverty politics: A North–South comparison. Antipode, 52(2), 393-407.